Months after the Federal Government voted N8 billion for awareness creation against tower vandalism, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has urged host communities to take ownership of protecting power transmission infrastructure.

In January, while criticism was trailing the government’s bogus budget for awareness creation, TCN said over 18 transmission towers were vandalised in a space of six days in Rivers, Abia, and Kano states.

During a sensitisation session held in IgbuEhuda, Rivers State, TCN’s Port Harcourt Regional Manager, Akpa Anyaegbunam, appealed to youths from Ahoada East and Ahoada West to support efforts to secure the national grid.

Over the weekend, TCN said work was ongoing to re-erect three towers that collapsed along the 330kV Kainji-Birnin Kebbi transmission line on Wednesday, May 7, this month.

Anyaegbunam warned that repeated attacks on power towers, such as the vandalism of 20 towers along the Ahoada-Yenagoa line in July 2024, have had devastating consequences, including a four-month blackout across Bayelsa.

He emphasised that the destruction of these assets not only imposes significant repair costs but also disrupts economic activities and stifles development in already struggling communities.

While stopping short of blaming local youths directly, Anyaegbunam noted that such acts could not be carried out without some level of complicity from within the communities.

He called for a renewed sense of collective responsibility, stating that the protection of transmission infrastructure is essential for any hope of sustained development.

Responding to the call, a local youth leader, Isaiah Sunday, expressed willingness to partner with TCN and proposed the creation of community-led surveillance teams to safeguard installations. He stressed that power infrastructure must be treated as a shared community asset, vital to improving livelihoods and attracting progress.

The campaign, which drew participants from 19 communities, is part of a broader TCN initiative across the Port Harcourt region to raise awareness and enlist grassroots support in securing Nigeria’s fragile power network, the agency said in a release.